World Cup winning legend Aravinda de Silva is DOMINANTLY backing former test cricketer Naveed Nawaz for the national side’s head coach position following the rejection from Paul Farbrace for the same, Cricket Age exclusively learns.
A former Sri Lanka player, Naveed is currently the Bangladesh’s U-19 coach and his team won the global title in 2020. In the ongoing U19 World Cup though, Bangladesh were knocked out in the quarter final itself with a defeat against mighty India.
Initially, Naveed was finalized for assistant coach position, however after Farbrace’s exit from the scene, now Aravinda wants him for the top post. Interestingly, Naveed had associated with Aravinda few years ago, for a cricket academy in UAE.
“While other Committee members are still undecided, it seems that Aravinda has made his mind on Naveed” an Insider in the Committee told Cricket Age.
Aravinda’s plan was revealed to other members after Farbrace turned down Committee’s offer to remain with Warwickshire. Farbrace, the director of cricket at Edgbaston, was offered a deal which would have seen him return to the position he left in 2014. Farbrace left Sri Lanka Cricket eight years ago – just three months into a two-year contract as head coach – to become assistant to Peter Moores with the England national team, before holding the same role under Trevor Bayliss. Farbrace had not initially applied for the position but was approached after the committee tasked with recruiting the new head coach decided that the quality of the 30 or so applicants was not of sufficient quality.
SLC are in need of a new head coach following the departure of Mickey Arthur, the South African who agreed a move to Derbyshire at the end of last year. SLC appointed a six-member committee headed by Mahela Jayawardena, Tom Moody, two members from the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Including Aravinda, CEO of SLC and Head of Human Resources to finalise the Head Coach appointment.
